Cap having a non-drip spout



SPt l, 1964 KlYosl-n NAGA: 3,146,913

l CAP HAVING A NON-DRIP SPOUT Filed June 29, 1961 Milli);

VIII/IM v12 respectively in hole a.

United States Patent Fice 3,146,913 CAP HAVING A NON-DRIP SPGUT KiyoshiNagai, 267 Kugahara-maehi, Uta-ku, Tokyo, Japan Filed June 29, 1961,Ser. No. 120,605 7 Claims. (Cl. 222-110) This invention relates tonon-drip spouts on liquid containers. More particularly, the inventionrelates to spouts on containers wherein liquid usually is disposed inthe spout after completion of a pouring operation. In ordinary spouts,the liquid usually drips from the spout.

It is an object of the invention to provide a spout wherein the liquidis drawn back into the container so that there will not be any drippingfrom the spout.

It is a further object of the invention that the drawing of the liquidin the spout back into the container subsequent to a pouring operationbe substantially an automatic operation.

It is a feature of the invention that a suction force is developed inthe liquid in the spout to cause the same to be reintroduced into thecontainer. According to the invention, the opening and closing of thespout is controlled by a spring loaded slide valve which automaticallyestablishes the necessary operating conditions which enable pouring ofthe liquid and backflow of liquid in the spout so as to prevent drippingfrom the spout.

This invention is characterized in the fact that by a slide valve thatis externally actuated against the action of a spring to open a pouringspout in a container to enable dispensing of the contents of thecontainer contained liquid is never drained without external forcesuperior to internal one, and wherein upon release of the external forcethat actuated the slide valve a suction is developed to cause residualliquid in the spout to be drained back into the container, there beingfurther developed an air cushion to cause return of the slide valve toits original position.

In the accompanying drawings, there is shown an embodiment of the spoutof the present invention in perspective view and partially in section asapplied onto a liquid container which is only partially shown. Thedrawings show various operating stages of the embodiment and inparticular;

FIG. 1 shows the normal state of the spout wherein the container issealed;

PEG. 2 shows the spout in operative condition and adapted for allowingliquid to be poured from the container; and

FIG. 3 shows the spout after the same has been released from itsoperative condition and prior to its return to its normal state.

Referring to the drawings, 1 is a liquid container made of polyethyleneor the like. The container is provided with an expanding taperedthreaded lip 2. A screw cap 3 is in threaded engagement with thecontainer and bears with an inverted tapered shoulder 4 against thetapered lip 2. In the cap 3 is provided a hole 5 and a correspondingguide groove 6. The guide groove 6 is closed at one end 6'. 7 is an airpassage and 8 is a liquid drain hole, each of which open at an endthereof into said hole adjacent opposite ends thereof. Adjacent thedrain hole 8 may be provided a return drain hole 8" to insure thedraining back of residual liquid in the spout, when the drain hole S isinsuicient to drain back residual liquid instantly into the container 1.

A stationary cylinder 9 and a slidable sleeve valve 10 are fitted inback to back relation along end walls 11 and The sleeve valve has anopen end 10 which constitutes a spout during liquid 3,lli5,9l3 PatentedSept. 1., 1964 dispensing. A slide valve 13, 14, connected with a stem15 passes slidably through said end walls 11 and 12 for sliding in thecylinder 9 and sleeve 10 respectively. A push button 16 is coupled tothe outer end of the stem 15. Between the end wall 11 of the stationarycylinder 9 and the slide valve 13 there is provided a compression spring17 surrounding stern 15, which spring urges the slide valve 13 outwardlyin the stationary cylinder 9, so that the slide valve 14 connected withthe stem 15 is also urged in the same direction.

The stationary cylinder 9 is provided with a hole 18 which is incommunication with air passage 7 and which is normally closed by theslide valve 13. The slidable sleeve valve 10 is provided with a hole 19in communication with the interior of sleeve 10 and adapted for being incommunication with liquid drain hole 8 and drain back hole 3. A pin 20projects into guide groove 6 to prevent rotation of the sleeve valve 10in the hole 5 while the pin also projects into the sleeve valve 1t? toserve as a stopper or limit device for the slide valve 14. The guidegroove 6 is operative to provide for the intake or exhausting of airwhen the sleeve valve 10 slides in the hole 5. 21 is a set screw adaptedfor engaging a female threaded hole 22 in the cap 3 to regulate theinflow and outow of air through said guide groove 6 externally of thestationary cylinder 9.

Referring now to FIG. l, the air passage 7, the liquid drain hole 8 andthe drain back hole S are respectively shut off by the slide valve 13and the slidable sleeve valve 10. When valve 14 is inwardly urged underthe action of spring 17, the sleeve 10 covers the opening 3 and 8 andwill be retained in the container 1 irrespective of the positionthereof. Thus, the container 1 may be upright, horizontally or inclinedand liquid will not flow therefrom.

When the push button 16 (shown in FlG. 2) is pressed, the slide valve 13compresses the compression spring 17 to expose the interior of thecontainer to the atmosphere through hole 18 and the air passage 7, whilethe slide valve 14 is moved outwards in the sleeve 1t) to engage the pin2t). When the slide valve 14 engages the pin 20 it forces the slidablesleeve valve 1@ outwardly in the hole 5 till the pin Zit engages the endwall 6 of the guide groove 6 to align the liquid drain hole 8 with thehole 19 of the sleeve valve 1Q. As a consequence thereof, liquid willnow pour from spout 141 when the container is tilted.

If the push button 16 is released (as shown in FIG. 3) even duringpouring and with the container tilted, the spring 17 causes the slidevalve 13 to slide thereby causing sliding of the slide valve 14, toprevent further pouring of the liquid. Sequentially, the following isobserved when the push button is released. Trapped air in charnber Aacts as a cushion whereby the sleeve valve 1t) is moved in response tothe force exerted by valve 14 so as to close the liquid drain hole 8 andopen the drain back hole 8', In this position, the slidable sleeve valve1i) is temporarily stopped from moving by compression charnber B wherebythe slide valve 14- slides in sleeve 10 to create a vacuum to causeresidual liquid in the sleeve 10 to drain back through hole S' and intothe container until the slide valve 14 contacts the end wall 12 of thechamber A to thereby cause the sleeve valve 1i] to overcome the aircushion in the chamber B and slide to a rest position against cylinder 9to cause complete closure of the liquid drain hole 8 and drain back holeS.

According to the present invention, therefore, a liquid container havingsemi-automatic non drip spout, of simple construction is presented. Asthe dispensing operation ends, and the push button 16 is released, it isunderstood that the action of spring 17 immediately moves the slidablesleeve valve iti to cause the hole i9 to slide from a position over thehole 8, thereby closing the same.

Residual liquid still left in the spout in after a pouring operationordinarily would drip from the spout but in the present invention, theautomatic suction action causes the residual liquid in the spout to bedrawn back and drained into the container It, after which the containeris sealed. It is to be especially noted that the entire coordinatedsequence after the push button lo is released is fully automatic. I

What is claimed is:

l. In a container, a cap coupled thereto to permit dispensing of thecontents from the container, the cap having a bore, a sleeve slidablysupported in said bore and having an open end defining a spout, a valveslidably supported in said sleeve, means defining limits of movement ofsaid valve in said sleeve, and means limiting movement of said sleevebetween first and second positions, said valve in both limit positionsin said sleeve being adapted for causing sliding of said sleeve in saidbore between said first and second positions, and elastic meanselastically urging the valve to one of said limit positions in thesleeve and the sleeve to the first position thereof, said cap beingprovided with a pair of passageways establishing communication betweenthe bore and the container, said sleeve being provided with an openingfor establishing communication between the interior of the sleeve andthe passageways, both said passageways being blocked by the sleeve withthe latter in said one limit position thereby substantially sealing thecontainer, said Valve being movable to the other of the limit positionsin the sleeve against the action of the elastic means to cause thesleeve to assume the other of the limit positions of the sleeve in thebore, said opening being in communication with one of the passageways inthe sleeve with the sleeve in said other position whereby the contentsof the container may be dispensed from the sleeve via said onepassageway, said valve sliding in said sleeve with said elastic meansreleased to exert a suction force on undispensed contents in said sleeveand to cause said sleeve to return to said first position, said sleevepassing through an intermediate position whereat the opening in thesleeve is aligned with the other of the passageways while said valveconcurrently slides in said sleeve such that the suction force causesthe undispensed contents in the sleeve to be reintroduced into thecontainer, thereby preventing dripping from the sleeve of undispensedliquid.

2. The combination as claimed in claim l wherein the means defininglimits of movement of said valve in said sleeve includes a pin in saidsleeve for contacting said valve, said cap being provided with a groove,said pin being slidable in said groove and adapted to contact the cap tolimit movement of said sleeve in said cap.

3. The combination as claimed in claim 2 wherein the means limitingmovement of the sleeve includes a stationary member supported in saidbore against which the sleeve abuts in the first position thereof, saidcap being provided with a groove opening externally thereof and adjacentsaid bore, said groove being in communication with said bore and beingsmall relative thereto, said sleeve and stationary member defining achamber with the sleeve in a position displaced from said stationarymember, said chamber being in communication with said groove, saidchamber having fluid therein which acts as a cushion against return ofthe sleeve to the first position thereof when the elastic means isreleased, such that the opening in the sleeve is in communication withsaid other passageway for an extended period.

4. The combination as claimed in claim 3 wherein the valve defines aclosed space with the sleeve when the valve is in contact with the pin,said closed space having fluid therein for acting as a cushion againstmovement of the valve to said other position in the sleeve, said valvemoving to the other position with the sleeve cushioned against saidchamber and the opening in communication with the other passagewaywhereby suction is developed with the opening in communication with saidother passageway.

5. The combination as claimed in claim l wherein said cap is providedwith an air vent in communication with the interior of the container,the combination further comprising a second valve coupled to the firstvalve for movement therewith, the second valve blocking the air ventwith the first said valve in said one limit position, said air ventbeing open to the atmosphere with the first valve in said otherposition.

6. A cap adapted for connection to a container to permit the dispensingof liquid from said container, said cap comprising means for connectionto the container, said cap being provided with a bore extendingtherethrough, a sleeve slidably supported for movement in said borebetween first and second limit positions and having an open end defininga spout, a valve supported in said sleeve for sliding movement therein,means for limiting the movement of the valve in the sleeve in a firstdirection and includin(7 a pin in said sleeve extending therethrough forcontacting one end of the bore to also define one of the limit positionsof the sleeve in the bore, the wall of the bore being provided withpassageways extending between the bore and the interior of thecontainer, said sleeve being provided with an opening for establishingcommunication between the passageways one at a time in succession andthe interior of the sleeve, and means elastically exerting a force onthe valve in a direction opposite said first direction to cause thevalve to contact the sleeve and the sleeve to assume the first of thelimit positions, said passageways being blocked by the sleeve with thelatter in said first position whereby the contents of the container aresubstantially sealed therein, one of the passageways being incommunication with the opening in the sleeve with the sleeve in thesecond position, and held thereat against the action of said meanswhereby the contents of the container may be dispensed through thesleeve via said one passageway, said valve moving in a directionopposite the first direction under the action of the means when thelatter is released to cause movement of the sleeve to said secondposition, said sleeve passing through an intermediate position whereatthe opening is in communication with the other passageway, the movementof said valve in said sleeve causing a suction force to be exerted onundispensed contents in the sleeve while the opening in the sleeve is incommunication with said other passageway whereby said contents arecaused to drain back into the container through said other passageway insaid intermediate position of said sleeve, and thereby preventingdripping of the contents from the sleeve.

7. A cap adapted for connection to a container to permit the dispensingof liquid from said container, said cap comprising means for connectionto the container, said cap being provided with a bore extendingtherethrough, a first stationary hollow element in said bore, a secondmovable hollow element in said bore, said second movable hollow elementhaving an open end defining a spout, a slide valve including first andsecond valve portions coupled together for common movement andrespectively positioned in sliding fashion in the elements in the bore,a spring in the stationary element engaging the valve portion therein tourge the same to a first position, said wall of the bore being providedwith a first passageway communicating with the bore at a location in theregion of the stationary element, said first passageway openinginteriorly of the container, said stationary element having an openingestablishing communication between the atmosphere and the firstpassageway, said wall of the bore being further provided with second andthird passageways communicating with the bore at a location in theregion of the movable element, each of the latter passageways openinginteriorly of the container, said movable element having an openingadapted for communicating with the second and third passageways one at atime in sequence, and a pin in said movable element extending into thehollow thereof for being engaged by the valve portion in the movableelement whereby movement in one direction of the valve portion causescorresponding movement of the movable element, said pin projecting fromsaid movable element for engaging the end of the bore to provide a limitof movement of the movable element, said slide valve being movable fromsaid rst position thereof against the action of the spring to a secondposition whereat the pin engages the end of the bore, the second andthird passageways being both blocked by the movable element while therst passageway is blocked Iby the valve portion in the stationaryelement with the slide valve in the first position whereby the interiorof the container is substantially sealed, said second passageway beingin communication with the opening in the movable element with the slidevalve held in the second position against the action of the spring,whereby the contents of the container may be dispensed therefrom, saidslide valve returning to the first position under the action of thespring when the slide valve is released, the slide valve passing throughan intermediate position whereat the third passageway is incommunication with the opening in the movable element, said elementsdefining a chamber therebetween with the slide valve in the secondposition, said chamber having air therein which acts as a cushion forreturn of the movable element to the original position thereof, saidcushion temporarily blocking movement of the movable element such thatsaid spring causes relative sliding of the valve portion in the movableelement with the movable element in said intermediate position to causea suction force in the hollow of the movable element to in turn causeliquid remaining in the hollow of the movable element to drain back intothe container through the third passageway whereby dripping from themovable element is prevented.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS675,548 Long June 4, 1901 1,018,552 Cooke Feb. 27, 1912 2,464,030Engstrom Mar. 8, 1949 2,708,058 Duval et al. May 10, 1955 2,971,680Wilson et al. l Feb. 14, 1,961

1. IN A CONTAINER, A CAP COUPLED THERETO TO PERMIT DISPENSING OF THECONTENTS FROM THE CONTAINER, THE CAP HAVING A BORE, A SLEEVE SLIDABLYSUPPORTED IN SAID BORE AND HAVING AN OPEN END DEFINING A SPOUT, A VALVESLIDABLY SUPPORTED IN SAID SLEEVE, MEANS DEFINING LIMITS OF MOVEMENT OFSAID VALVE IN SAID SLEEVE, AND MEANS LIMITING MOVEMENT OF SAID SLEEVEBETWEEN FIRST AND SECOND POSITIONS, SAID VALVE IN BOTH LIMIT POSITIONSIN SAID SLEEVE BEING ADAPTED FOR CAUSING SLIDING OF SAID SLEEVE IN SAIDBORE BETWEEN SAID FIRST AND SECOND POSITIONS, AND ELASTIC MEANSELASTICALLY URGING THE VALVE TO ONE OF SAID LIMIT POSITIONS IN THESLEEVE AND THE SLEEVE TO THE FIRST POSITION THEREOF, SAID CAP BEINGPROVIDED WITH A PAIR OF PASSAGEWAYS ESTABLISHING COMMUNICATION BETWEENTHE BORE AND THE CONTAINER, SAID SLEEVE BEING PROVIDED WITH AN OPENINGFOR ESTABLISHING COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THE INTERIOR OF THE SLEEVE ANDTHE PASSAGEWAYS, BOTH SAID PASSAGEWAYS BEING BLOCKED BY THE SLEEVE WITHTHE LATTER IN SAID ONE LIMIT POSITION THEREBY SUBSTANTIALLY SEALING THECONTAINER, SAID VALVE BEING MOVABLE TO THE OTHER OF THE LIMIT POSITIONSIN THE SLEEVE AGAINST THE ACTION OF THE ELASTIC MEANS TO CAUSE THESLEEVE TO ASSUME THE OTHER OF THE LIMIT POSITIONS OF THE SLEEVE IN THEBORE, SAID OPENING BEING IN COMMUNICATION WITH ONE OF THE PASSAGEWAYS INTHE SLEEVE WITH THE SLEEVE IN SAID OTHER POSITION WHEREBY THE CONTENTSOF THE CONTAINER MAY BE DISPENSED FROM THE SLEEVE VIA SAID ONEPASSAGEWAY, SAID VALVE SLIDING IN SAID SLEEVE WITH SAID ELASTIC MEANSRELEASED TO EXERT A SUCTION FORCE ON UNDISPENSED CONTENTS IN SAID SLEEVEAND TO CAUSE SAID SLEEVE TO RETURN TO SAID FIRST POSITION, SAID SLEEVEPASSING THROUGH AN INTERMEDIATE POSITION WHEREAT THE OPENING IN THESLEEVE IS ALIGNED WITH THE OTHER OF THE PASSAGEWAY WHILE SAID VALVECONCURRENTLY SLIDES IN SAID SLEEVE SUCH THAT THE SUCTION FORCE CAUSESTHE UNDISPENSED CONTENTS IN THE SLEEVE TO BE REINTRODUCED INTO THECONTAINER, THEREBY PREVENTING DRIPPING FROM THE SLEEVE OF UNDISPENSEDLIQUID.